RESEARCH ROUNDUP

Tooth research gets $3.2 million

Exploring the roles that saliva, bacteria, and common food preservatives can play in preventing tooth decay is the subject of a $3.2 million project at the Center for Oral Biology.

Funded by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, the project focuses on three areas.

One team will analyze saliva samples collected from 4,000 children whose history of dental care will be recorded for several years, checking for compounds in saliva that make some children less likely to develop tooth decay.

A second team is focusing on making vulnerable the bacteria that churn out the acids that eat through enamel.

A third team will explore how common food preservatives found in diet soda, frozen foods, juices, and many other foods appear to help prevent cavities, perhaps by enhancing the protective action of fluoride.

In addition to students and research associates, faculty investigators include Gurrinder Bedi, William Bowen, Robert Burne, Jr., Robert Marquis, Robert Quivey, Jr., Anna Vacca Smith, and Gene Watson.

For more information, visit www.urmc.rochester.edu/pr/News/cavities.html

Tumor technology developed

A Medical Center scientist is developing new technology to build a next-generation CT scanner that could lead to more successful treatment of lung cancer and many other types of malignancies.

Funded by a $1.9 million National Institutes of Health grant, Ruola Ning is designing a system that would picture tiny lung tumors earlier and with more clarity than what physicians can see on conventional chest X-rays or CT scans.

The technology results in higher-resolution pictures, more cross sections, and views in three-dimensions--all in less time than an average CT scan, Ning says.

The University holds two patents on Ning's work and has filed several others. Ning recently presented details of the technology at the annual meeting of the International Society for Optical Engineering.

For more information, visithttp:// www.urmc.rochester.edu/pr/News/new_tech.html

Researchers team with inventors

Wilson Greatbatch, award-winning inventor of the implantable cardiac pacemaker and holder of more than 220 patents, is teaming up with University engineers and scientists to help develop MRI-safe pacemakers, as well as to look into a new way to outsmart HIV.

The research is part of a partnership with the new Rochester-based company GreatBio Technologies, Inc.--founded to develop Greatbatch's inventions.

Several engineers and doctors of the University serve as scientific advisors to GreatBio, including Bradford Berk, chief of cardiology and director of the Center for Cardiovascular Research; Tom Foster, associate professor of radiology, of physics, and of biophysics; and Kevin Parker, dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and director of the Rochester Center for Biomedical Ultrasound.

For more information, visit www.rochester.edu/pr/News/NewsReleases/scitech/parkera.html

Study re-visits heart risk

A common imaging technique can help physicians keep better tabs on the risks that people taking cholesterol-lowering medications still face from heart attacks, according to research by a Strong Memorial Hospital cardiologist.

Ronald G. Schwartz, director of nuclear cardiology at Strong, presented evidence at the annual meeting of the American College of Cardiology that using a technique known as Cardiolite SPECT scanning to measure blood flow in the hearts of patients being treated with the cholesterol-lowering drug pravastatin gives a better indication of those at risk.

For more information, visit www.rochester.edu/pr/releases/med/spect.html

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